My Journey to Weight Loss Success

 So I'm eating a lot of healthy stuff here lately.  Fruits, salad, veggies, beans oatmeal.  I have never had any kind of balance in my diet.  I do usually eat healthy when I'm actually in weight-loss mode, but when I'm not--I eat like a 2-year-old.  Or what a 2-year-old would choose if she were allowed to eat what she wanted.   But I find that I really enjoy the healthy food.  It feels so good!  And I feel lighter and more energetic.  You would think I would get the message, wouldn't you?   For dinner, I made a soup with white beans, celery, onions, carrots, spinach, chicken broth and almond milk, seasoned with garlic, salt, pepper, thyme and parsley.  It felt so healthy and nourishing, plus pretty yummy!  Not something I would normally eat, but I was very pleased with the outcome.   Today, I felt lighter on my feet, especially when I did a 13-minute jog.  That's encouraging.  I'm still running ins...

 Today was a bit of a struggle.  I'm just ending the day worn out, physically and emotionally. I started out in a rather good mood, doing a focused morning time, which was okay, nothing momentous.  But I felt good that I actually did it.  I was going to journal a bit, but not much was coming to me.  Then I decided to go for a walk outside since it was cool enough. I ended up walking a 5K!  I decided to walk to the end of our area and make a big square back to my house.  One road was blocked off because of construction, and I circled around it.  It might have been fine to just cross it on foot, but I felt weird to do it.  I did not want to get scolded, haha!   I was really worn out when I got back to the house.  I probably should have balanced my workout a bit.  The most I had walked up until today was about a mile.  Usually, when I get 10,000 steps, I walk them gradually on and off all day.  This was 7500 all at ...

 I can't believe it is already three weeks down! When I say that today was a day of rest, I mean that literally.  Last night was the third or fourth night of not falling asleep until the wee hours.  I woke up around 9:00, got up briefly, ate a banana, and then crawled back into bed.  Mistake or not, I slept until 2:00!  I do that occasionally. Then I ended up not doing hardly anything except some reading.  I needed to do a grocery pickup, so I scheduled that--first time available was 6:00 p.m.    I had a lot of veggies on the list, so I definitely needed those. I spent quit a bit of time reading and in prayerful thinking.  I was praying quite a bit about going back to Al-Anon.  Since I tend to react very emotionally to things in the beginning, I wasn't as enthused today; but the more I pray about it, the more I think it's a good step.  Since this blog is mostly about weight loss, I'll just mention that any inner work I do will great...

 I woke up again in a low mood.  But as I said before, the beginning does not determine the end.  I have private things going on.  The biggest thing is that a huge relationship is in limbo--it has been, on and off, for eight or nine years.  It's wearing.   Another issue is that I have been taking the longest time to go to sleep.  It's been like around 3:00 in the morning for the last 2 or 3 days.  Fortunately, I have not been exhausted on most days.  But I fret about it and keep trying to bring it under control.  But you can't force your body to go to sleep even though there is a lot you can do to encourage it. I'm trying to remember why my mood was low this morning.  I started this book yesterday, Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the World's Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself .  I found the title itself very inspiring since I am trying to become fit(ter) at an older age.   This man was an at...

 Even though I am in WW, and I talk about WW all the time, I am not married to the program.  Sometimes, it truly frustrates me.  The points values have nothing to do with the calories in a food.   I understand that a lot of trial and error and data go into their programs, or so they say.  But today, for example, I already have 38 points and still need a bedtime snack, and I have only eaten about 1100 calories.  Of course, sticking with the program exactly is probably going to encourage me to eat in a healthier way.  Lots of fruits and veggies, lean protein, whole grains.  That is good.  I'm probably just sounding off a little bit. I'm definitely planning on staying in because I need the accountability and the weigh-ins.  Plus, making lifetime is about the biggest item on my bucket list! I think I like enough flexibility that I would like days when I'm not eating those same healthy foods and still have plenty of points for other thin...

 12,000 steps, baby! My day started out kind of low.  I got up late after trying to get a little more step, which didn't happen.  I was thinking that I was just going to try to get through the day under 1600 calories, but didn't really think I would do much more.  I started out with a small waffle with regular syrup, intentionally!  I just wanted one. I was sort of teary for a little while a little after lunch.  More of that self-doubt.  I keep getting attacked with thoughts telling me I'm not enough; ironically, I also get attacked with thoughts of being too  much for people.  Fortunately, I was not really tempted to eat to stuff those emotions.  Pretty soon after that, I decided to at least get some steps done.  After walking a few laps, I set the time for 9 minutes and jogged.   As I was jogging, I was remembering scripture about God being there in the depths and in the heights of our lives.  He is my perfect, lovi...

 Goodness, I was tired today!  I had slept until 11:00 yesterday morning, so last night I didn't go to sleep until past 2:00.  I was glad to be awake at about 9:30.  I went ahead and got up.   I had oatmeal for breakfast (boring, huh?).  I'm realizing that so many of these zero-point foods are getting rather old and have been wanting other things to eat.  It seems like the 17 points get used up without even thinking about it.  I decided to make a trial of the Green Program, which gives me 31 points plus the 42 weekly points plus activity points.  Only fruits and non-starchy veggies are free.  I just want to see how it works compared to the Purple.  The foods that are zero-points on the Purple Program still tend to be lower in points on the Green, but it gives me a lot more flexibility for dinner ideas.  I'm a bigtime beef eater.  I can get tired of chicken really fast.   During the day, snacks included a str...

I didn't mean to go three days without updating.  Our time out of town went well, though not perfect.   Day 15 I was pretty lazy on Monday.  I let the others walk down to take care of the cat.  Monday was a bit of a struggle.  I was trying to think of some decent meals for all of us, but I felt so at a loss in this kitchen.  It was so HEALTHY compared to what I am used to with unfamiliar ingredients.  I did suggest grilled cheese sandwiches, and the boys were thrilled about that idea.  So I made sandwiches for them, then I made oatmeal for me since I hadn't had breakfast yet.  From what I remember I snacked in the afternoon on some of my stash: a boiled egg, cheese stick, a banana.   I had decided to make some kind of pasta for dinner with a cheesy sauce.  It turned out rather strange with the ingredients that were in the kitchen, but the boys really liked it.  I had a bit of it.  The whole thing put me in a rath...

 My, it just dawned on me that this is the end of the second week.  I feel very encouraged with how well I have done! As I said the other day, we are grandbaby sitting until Wednesday.  I didn't mention that our "grandbabies" are 13 and 15.:)  They are so easy.  They are actually very quiet compared to how quiet and noisy my own three kids were.  It's a very easy job.   The house is about 15 miles outside of Fredericksburg, Texas, which is one of the most charming, historic towns in Texas, right in the middle of Hill Country.  Being out in the country, we have some beautiful scenery to look at all day.  Plus the weather has cooled down, already feeling fallish, and the high tomorrow is supposed to be about 65 degrees with a big chance for rain. The parents got off about 3:00 this afternoon, so it has just been the four of us since then.  The guys had picked up pizza for lunch, and there was plenty for dinner, so no cooking has been ...

 We are at our older son's house.  Today consisted of getting ready to go, being on the road, arriving about 5:30, dinner and an evening visiting. I stayed on track today.  Banana for breakfast.  I had some Chic-Fil-A grilled nuggets (6) and a few baked Cheetos.  Ate mostly fruit to get me through until supper.  I had a hamburger with only mustard, pickles and lettuce.  More fruit later, then a peanut butter sandwich for dinner.   No exercise to speak of today. Off to bed.

 It seems I am having a string of good days.  I got up a bit late to take a walk in the cool, but I did get in my 10,000 steps, gradually all day. I was getting some things done for my trip tomorrow.  I did laundry and cooked some chicken breasts and boiled eggs.  Goodness, it's hard to find good chicken dishes for WW that involve whole chicken breasts.   I had oatmeal for breakfast again with a banana, a plate of sliced chicken breast, string cheese, sliced tomatoes, baby carrots, grapes, a pickle, and a light English muffin with Brummel & Brown spread (5 points).  Dinner was Chicken Express again.  Right now, the two-piece fish filet dinner is my favorite thing to eat on this diet.  I even had hush puppies, corn on the cob and Fried Okra since I had only had eaten 5 points plus I had 3 activity points. I did feel sort of a crash in energy again today before dinner.  I think I'm not getting enough of something, probably not enough c...

 I'm very thankful I was able to get right back on track today.  I was still cool enough when I got up, so I started the day with a walk outside.  I walked around 1 1/2 miles (right at 4000 steps).  I got in two extra glasses of water to rehydrate and had oatmeal for breakfast.  That seems to be my go-to breakfast right now.  It has zero points.  I just sweeten it with Splenda.  I was motivated to get my steps up to 10,000 as early as I could.  I don't exactly understand the activity points system on WW (I was reading about it today), but I think I have pretty much the maximum activity points earned for the week, but I can't use those points each day unless I have a base of 3000 steps on that particular day.  I looks like I am given 3 or 4 points for each day(?).  That will definitely motivate me to get those steps in as early as possible to get those extra points!  I plan to check with my WW leader when I get back to meetings....

Yes, I did.  I didn't go nuts.  But I did just eat things that sounded good.  I just tried not to go all out on calories.  Some things that are high in points are not high in calories.  Like a bowl of cereal.  So I started with a bowl of Reese's Puffs.  Later I had a banana, some Chewy Mini Sweet Tarts, a peanut butter sandwich, roast, mashed potatoes, and carrots, one piece of cinnamon toast with light butter.   I don't think I went over 1600 calories; FitBit put it at 1445.  I'm so glad I added it up because otherwise I might have felt discouraged.  I toyed with the idea of having a day like this once a week.  It is definitely not according to the "rules" of Weight Watchers.  I wonder if people who last a long time with weight loss allow these variances.  A day like this gives me the chance of indulging in a few things that I would not eat because of it being too many points. Counting calories along with points give...

 Today may have been one of my most successful days.  That's because I got up with an extreme feeling of "don't want to."  It might have partly been because I didn't sleep that well; it just took a long time to fall asleep.  Not so much about the food, but exercise.  But it did not dictate how my day went! It was cool enough, 70% outside, but I just did not want to go for a walk.  But I did manage to make myself just start walking around to put some steps on my FitBit.  I'm fortunate in that my house has a fairly large loop through the living and kitchen.  We have an open floor plan.  It's about 25-30 paces in a circle.  So I began walking circles, and also jogged for 4 minutes straight.  Yesterday, I had jogged 3 minutes, so I try from time to time to build up my jogging time.  I had almost 4000 steps before I knew it!  It's amazing what you can end up doing when you take your first step.   I also went straight ...

 Today went well.  I started out with a walk, but I didn't record the time or distance; it was at least a mile and about 2800 steps.  I got up and walked another 1000 steps every hour or so.  While I was out, I called Bonnie (my other friend in the neighborhood) because I was walking by her house, but she didn't answer.  I don't know if she's in town or not.  I did end up with over 10,000 points today.:) I also browsed on YouTube for workout videos.  I found a few that look promising.  At this point, I want standing workouts because it's rather hard to get up and down on the floor.  One was a 12-minute standing ab workout, which I want to do to strengthen my core, something I always neglect.  I also pulled out some 5-lb weights and did quite a few lifts.   I increased my water today, drinking half a large glass before my walk, then a full glass when I got back, and another glass later in addition to what I usually drink.  ...

Yay, I made it a week!  I really wanted one week to be perfect.   Just to give me a good restart.  I'm reminding myself that this journey is far, far from perfect.  I just must not quit!  It's for a lifetime. I blog on a Microsoft Surface Pro, which is really cool in some ways, but in others, very confusing and frustrating.  I keep thinking if I will spend some time going through a user's manual that I may like this machine much better than I do presently.  But today, I learned a perhaps awkward way to get a photo to this blog, so that was a good step. As the title shows, this is a pretty good "before" picture, showing me at around my highest weight.  It was taken in the spring of 2019, maybe 15, 16 months ago.  It was made during the time that I just hardly ever, ever left the house.  My young second cousin was in town for a book signing for a wonderful children's book.  I had forgotten about it.  Jake came in late mornin...

 I'm not sure if I have much of anything exciting to report.  I'm still on track.   I ended up accidentally sleeping until 11:00.  I sort of think going back on Weight Watchers makes it more difficult to fall asleep.  I always read sleeping tips about not eating before you go to bed, but that absolutely does not work for me.  I wish it did!  My late-night eating is my biggest problem.  But every so many days, I end up sleeping a lot later than usual.  I may be getting to the point of setting an alarm, though I hate them so.   Up until a month or two ago, my sleep schedule had been about 3 or 4 a.m. until past noon, many times until about 1:30 p.m.  I mean, during this quarantine, with nothing on the schedule, what was the point!  Or so I said.  Over the last 20 years, that has been sort of my sleep schedule.  I usually took that long to actually fall asleep, and with fibromyalgia (which needs tons of sleep f...

A little more background: During this funk I was in, I stopped doing almost everything.  All I wanted to do was stay in bed, or if up, watch TV or read.  That's a terrible place to be.  I suspect many of us have given up on life for at least brief times in our lives.  I don't have to work, and there was very, very little I absolutely had to do.  Any trips out of the house were usually to the grocery store.  When we traveled to see the kids, I would manage to come "alive" for a few days, and then go back to my hole when we returned home.  I guess it's a perfect description of depression.   Jake didn't pressure me, pretty much left me alone.  I was glad about that, though I did from time to time tell him what was going on with me.  I just could think of nothing I wanted to do, interested in nothing.  I tried to keep my communication with God open and honest, so I least I wasn't totally hiding from Him.   If something ne...

 I am so pleased to be back on this journey again.  Looking back over my life, it's always been such a plus when I am actively losing weight and/or getting fitter. This time, back on the journey, I think about how many times I have been on track and then let so many things throw me off.  I could list a ton of different reasons, which I won't get into at the moment.  But it has occurred to me that I must get into a mindset that this is something I need to do, really must do, and not let things in my life derail me. Giving a little background, I do and have had many different obstacles and challenges that can defeat me, if I let it.  I struggle with depression, have fibromyalgia (much milder in the recent past), years of insomnia, some major relationship situations that I have not found an answer to, getting older, believing lies about myself and other things. And there are the challenges all of us in the world are facing right now during this pandemic and time of...

 So Day 3 was yesterday.  It went very steady until bedtime, which can be a problem at times.  I have had serious insomnia and/or some type of sleep disorder for over 20 years, so every night is an adventure!  Actually, the recent past has gone pretty well, and I'm closer to a normal sleeper than I have been in many years.  But back to Day 3. My points for the day: Breakfast: Grapes - 0 points (My stomach felt rather strange and acted up a bit.  Took awhile before I was ready for some heavier food.) Lunch: Leftover stir fry with rice - 1 point; small sloppy joe - 9 points (My lunch drug out over a few hours) Dinner: Very small bowl of broccoli and cheese soup - 4 points; 4 club crackers - 2 points Snacks: Light English Muffin with Brummel & Brown yogurt spread - 4 points; small red potato with salt - 0 points; fat-free cottage cheese with crushed pineapple - 0 points I used 20 points by evening, still without a bed time snack, dipping into my dailies by...

 Well, I consider my Day 1 a success even though I ate more points than I thought.  I was still on program.  My attitude is much more positive today!  Yesterday, I was rather soberly going back on program, just knowing I had to.  But today, I feel back on the wagon and much more determined.   I started right off the bat logging some steps since my FitBit is charged and on my wrist.  I reached 7300 steps by midnight. Food today: Breakfast 2 small bananas - 0 points, oatmeal - 0 points, 1 oz 2% milk - 1point Lunch Small red potato with salt only - 0 points, 1 1/2 oz. chicken breast - 0 points, 1 1/2 oz lean steak - 2 points, 1 tsp oil - 1 point Dinner Brown rice - 0 points, 1 tsp oil - 1 point, chicken breast - 0 points, Birds-Eye Stir Fry vegetables with small amount of the stir- fry sauce - 1 point, grapes - 0 points Snacks Grapes, banana, 1 c Reese's  Puffs Cereal - 7 points (not worth it!) 2 scrambled eggs - 0 points, light mozzarella stick...

Today is a day to begin again, always with the hope of success. I've been back in Weight Watchers the last year or so. Of course, I've joined and quit many times since I was 28, many years ago, never reaching that elusive lifetime membership. It's such a big item on my bucket list! Since rejoining about a year ago, I lost about 38 pounds, and during this quarantine period, I didn't do so well--probably like many others.   What a strange time we are in. I've had months of mostly being home doing quiet and sedentary things. So eating has been quite the entertainment. Reading many of the funny memes during this time makes me think I'm not the only one in this boat! Things are beginning to gradually open back up here in Texas, but I don't think the meetings are happening yet, except online. So after months of just eating whatever and packing back on way too many pounds, I am committing again. I think I gained back around 17-20 pounds--I keep forgetting...